Celtics

Jaylen Brown listed as ‘active’ for Celtics opener after testing positive for COVID-19

Al Horford remains out after testing positive as well.

Jaylen Brown tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month. AP Photo/Charles Krupa

October 18, 2021

Jaylen Brown is listed as “active” for the Celtics‘ season opener against the Knicks on Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, per the NBA’s Opening Night rosters.

Brown tested positive on Oct. 8.

Celtics coach Ime Udoka expressed some confidence the star wing would be able to return for the team’s opener. On Monday, he was asked whether Brown will be able to jump straight back into basketball activities if cleared.

“That’s a discussion we’re going to have,” Udoka said. “We like to get somebody reps obviously instead of throwing them into a game after being out all that time so something we traditionally do not do, but something we’ll have a discussion about and see where we go.”

Al Horford is listed as inactive. He tested positive for COVID a week ago. Udoka suggested Horford might not be available given his timeline, but he said Horford — like Brown — is doing well.

Udoka was asked what he’s looking for against the Knicks.

“Improvement overall and the execution and the effort,” Udoka said. “It’s always been there since the first day of practice and we’ve seen that translate into games — regardless of who’s playing, they’ve played extremely hard and unselfish. We want to see that continue.

“There will be moments obviously with guys inserted back into the lineup possibly and some different combinations there that you will see some inconsistencies but for the most part, the growth and the effort — I’ve talked about it from day one — effort and execution have been improving throughout our games. … Whoever played, played hard, played together and unselfishly so that’s the foundation we are trying to start on. When we add guys back to the mix, we will improve on certain things regarding our personnel, but overall just growth in those areas: consistency, execution, everything we’ve been harping on since day one.”

The Celtics and Knicks tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

An earlier version of this article said Brown is “available,” which is not confirmed. Boston.com regrets the error.